Method of making shoe lasts



Sept. 28, 1943.

w. L. BAXTER 2,330,260 THOD OF MAKING SHOE LASTS Sept. 28, 1943. w. L. BAXTER V METHOD OF MAKING SHOE LASTS Filed Jan. 24, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 28, 1943 This invention relates to lasts for boots-and shoes andis moreparticularly concerned with a .method of making two-part lasts by successive steps including the step of molding.

The ordinary method of making lasts iromgao wooden blocks involves just as much labor for the thousandth last as was utilized in making the second "one and, in general, the amount of salvage to be-obtained from lasts discarded because they are da-maged or out of style is small. Eorthis l-Q reason, the use of lastshproduced by azprocess of molding has long been contemplated and desired, partly because of the ease of duplicating I the lasts, again because of the obtainable salvage, and partly because of the possibility ofobtain-i 1 ing a finished surface on the molded article.

No satisfactory answer ,to this desire has been forthcoming, however, because :of the excessive cost -;of the hollow molds in which :the lasts are to beformed. For example, in the-making-of-T.=

mensrs'hoes of a particular style, the number of diiferentsizes of. lasts andh'ence the number of molds required forv all the difierent lengths and different widths which are, to be 1manufacture'd willwalways be asgreat .as '50 :and'.-may,=,readilyflbe 75 or 100. The cost ofnthis number :of -:molds would beprohibitive, and this vfactor iscaggra- 'vated bythe desire of the manufacturers'for varying styles. 'In addition, amolded lastmade 3 "of the materials employed for molded articles has not usually been satistactory because':of the lack of toughness of r the molded materials-and their lack of resistance to chipping and shattermg. strength to withstand the stressesemployed-inshoemaking machines and. can'be handled for temporary storage without excessive care,-it will not be sagsfactory to theshoemaker. This lack of strength continued unsolved untilmy discovery of a molding compoundhaving the-'desired characteristics, and this compound=is described in United "States Letters "Patent 'No. 2,094,868, granted October 15,1937,'upon an application filed in my name.

Accordingly, an important object of "the" in-' vention is to provide a method ofmaking lasts chiefiyby molding which will overeomethe difliculties previously experienced. So-called separable lasts in which the heel part is dividedfrom the forepart along an inclined secant plane "ex-' tending upwardly andforwardly' oi th'eLlas't have long been known. .In the making ofsuch lasts, connecting devices have been provided which'are prior to' the removal of the,

l.saving.of1,plastic -material is effected-{in this Unless a lasthas' a very considerable 3 "render itpo'ssible" to remove" the heel part of ng" movement, 'P Iit' and at the same time provide a" rigidcor'injection which enables the last to perform its usual "function without accidental separ ment between'the tWO I I herein illustratively .d'es'c bedflsjapplied'to the .makingof that'1sortoflast b In one vaspect,"invention" residesfin; the utilization of specially designed forep'art' cores made of metal, or .the like, and the moldingof theforeparts around these cores in a way which permits the last from the shoe, as bya variation, of style or size atjthetoe portion, where most s'uc'h changes occur, withoutneed of' a new mold fo r each styleor the like. j,"l?,he cores may bemacle hollow in order. to reduce the Weightof the last and their use enables a relatively small portion' ofthe moldable material to be em- 0 ploy-ed. Thisis particularly true of the forep'art in which the core comprises .a' hollow foot-shaped member. commonly made of sheet steel andhav-v Qinglslecured to it at its-rear end a plate'which carriespart-of the connecting 'mech'anis' "A process, by; coordinating thelcore and. t ;to cause comparatively Zlittle 'fmater'ial to roundthat-portion of the core which is rearward-of th'e ball fline while applying 'a greater Jmass= of materialaround the'toe, porti'onjjthus ,permitting'the formation ofa plurality ofselec'teid sizes and styles by reducing, this molded-piece.

To offset-the veryserious expense of ,imany moldsglgpropose the utilization, for the molding 5 -step,;..of on y a small number of ,th 'ee,

= for example, andthe subsequent turning to exact qshape iand size; of the 1 molded blanks. It ,will .fbe-;.,r.e al;iz ed, however, that the-amount of; ma terialrwhich" must be removed is very much; less tllanrin the-case of a block of wood since-the @moldingsoperation has brou ht the. pa t mo itsfinal shape and, 'iby reason of;-,-the en ploy- :imentuofzsuitable molding materials; suchgas that -describedsinthe patentaforesaidj-the ,tool marks of -theuturning lathe ,are so slightthat -the labor of -fi-nishing-.l the.last isi greatlyredufled as compare'cl with ::-a wooden last. ,gEurthermoremthe "performance of thisi -process isaigreatly {facilitated vices upon the iioint-s'urf'ace ends of th'e .oores "around the molded parts fare formed with a joint-surface flush with-that on the' core.

attached to, or located at, thejointsurtacesiande55 connecting "part which coacVwiththaton "by reason -'of '-theepresence of the connecting Ldethe last-like blank and will enable the blank to be snapped into position on the chuck of the lathe and immediately subjected to the action of the turning tool, frequently without necessitating a cooperating toe rest.

Details of the steps of the method of making the lasts and of the resulting last construction will best be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an angular view of a core for a forepart of a sliding joint, two-part last, said core being provided with a connecting mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an angular view of a metal core for the heel part of such a last and it is shown as having a. cooperating connecting mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through a mold for the forepart blank of a last and with a core supported in position ready for molding;

Fig. 4 is an angular view of a cover plate for the open end of the mold;

Fig. 5 illustrates the reduction, in a last-lathe, of a previously molded forepart blank;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of a separable twopart molded last prepared in accordance with the method of the invention and containing the metal cores of Figs. 1 and 2; and 1 I Fig. 7 is a view of my two-part last, with the mid-portion partly in section, to show the hooks and projections of the connecting mechanism in engagement.

The last-making process to be described is illustratively shown in connection with the making of a separable, two-part last of the slidingjoint type and having joint surfaces extending from a point near the heel-breast line upwardly and forwardly of the last. To aid in connecting and looking a forepart I00 and a heel part 206 together, the joint surface I6 (Fig. 6) of the forepart of the last is provided with two headed studs I2 and I4 and a spring-pressed locking plunger I6. The studs I2 and I4 are riveted to a box-like metal member 20, shown in section in. Fig. 3, and, within this box-like member, is a cylindrical socket 22 formed in a solid end portion of the member 20 for the reception of a spring 24 which holds the plunger outwardly. The latter is prevented from leaving the recess 22 by a ring 26 around the neckof the plunger and having a press fit in the recess. At the sides of the metal box 20 are projecting lugs or studs 30 (Figs. 1 and 7) which coact with hooks 32 upon a metal core 33 for the heel part 200 of the last so as thereby to give the joint between the heel part and the forepart greater strength to resist pressure such as that exerted by the leveling machine when the last is supmrted only by a last spindle. In the finished last forepart, as illustrated in Fig. 6, grooves 34 and 36 are provided in the joint surface It], for the admission of the hooks 32 as relative heightwise movement between the two parts of the last is given to lock them together. The heel part of the connecting mechanism, which is generally of the type shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,054,- 935, granted September 22, 1936, upon the application of John B. Hadaway, is secured to the metal heel core 33. This heel core (Fig. 2) com prises side plates 42 extending rearwardly from a front plate 44 and connected to curved portions 46, 48 which are brought together to make a thimble which is oval in cross section to cooperate with a jack pin of similar shape thereby to enable accurate location of the longitudinal axis of the last in machines for operating upon a' shoe carried on the last. The front plate 44 of the heel part core 33 is flush with the joint surface 56 (Fig. 6) of the heel part and has a keyhole slot 56 enlarged at 52 to receive the head of the stud I2 and also at 54 to receive the head of the other stud I4 as the two parts are brought together. The hook portions 32 are welded to the sides 42 of this metal core. The assembling of the two last' parts is effected as in other lasts of this type by inserting the studs in the enlargements 52, 54 and then moving the heel part 206 downwardly heightwise of the forepart I00 so that the shanks of the studs I2 and I4 will slide into the narrow portion of the slot 50 and, when the shank of the stud I2 reaches the top of the narrow portion 50, the plunger I6 will snap into the enlargement 52 and lock the two parts against unintentional displacement. During these movements, the hooks 32 will enter the grooves 34 and 36 and, at the completion of the movements, will engage lateral projections such as the studs 30.

A forepart core 60 is formed-of sheet metal and one arched portion is welded (Fig. 1) to the boxlike member 20 and another partly fiat portion 62 substantially parallels the bottom of the completed last and is welded to the top portion. Inasmuch as the pressures involved in molding a plastic around such a core are very considerable, it is found desirable completely to fill the forepart core fitlwith a finely divided solid material 63, such as sand or shot, and this is inserted by removing and later replacing a screw plug 64 in the box-like member 26. After the molding operation, the plug 64 may again be removed and the sand or the like poured out so as to lighten the last.

The molding of the last can be carried on in any well-known and desired fashion but, for the sake of description, an open-ended forepart mold recess or cavity 66 is shown as formed in a block 68 (Fig. 3) projecting from the side of a mold piece l0 divided along the line II. To support the core 60 in the mold cavity, an abutment plate I2 (Figs. 3 and 4) is employed Which'is recessed at I4 and provided witha double keyhole slot I6, I8 to receive the locking mechanism upon the rear end of the forepart core 66. When this is inserted in place, the plunger I6 will enter the lower enlargement I8 and lock the two parts temporarily together. On this abutment plate I2 are also provided fins and 82 (Fig. 4) to produce, during the molding operation, the grooves 34 and 36 extending inwardly from the joint surface I6 of the forepart of the last. The ends of these fins 80 and 82 are notched at 84 to receive the studs 36 and their other ends are inclined to correspond with the slope of the sides of the mold recess. After the core 66 and the abutment plate I2 have been assembled, the assemblage is mounted in the open-sided recess of a cover 90, the latter being provided with a dovetail slot to receive a dovetail projection 92 upon the outer face of the abutment plate I2. Other coacting parts (not shown) of "the mold are then brought into position and the whole clamped tightly together ,to permit the injec- ,tion, under pressure, through suitable passages 94 and 96, of a molten thermoplastic resinous material such as that described in the aforementioned Patent No. 2,094,868. A similar mold and a similar process are employed for making the heel-part blank 200 of the last about the metal core 33 with the plate portion 44 flush with the secant joint surface 56 and the hooks 32 projecting from that face. i

The design of the core of the forepart 60 and the coacting mold cavity 66 is such that, in the molded blank, comparatively little plastic material surrounds that portion of the core which is to the rear of the ball line I02 (Figs. 1 and 3), while the mold cavity 66 permits a more considerable portion of plastic material to be molded around the toe part of the last. The purpose of this is to permit a greater number of stylesto be formed with the same mold and upon the same core, it being well understood that changes in styles of lasts occur principally forward of the ball line. It will be understood, furthermore, that the size of the mold cavity 66 is such as to permit a substantial number of sizes or styles of foreparts to be constructed from forepart blanks made in the same mold and around forepart cores of the same size. 7

After the material has solidified and the forepart blank I of the last has been removed from the mold, then, by utilizing the connecting mechanism upon the box-like member 20, this forepart blank can be looked upon a specially constructed chuck 0 (Fig. having a recess H2 and openings corresponding substantially to those shown in the abutment, plate 12 in Fig. 4. The blank is thereby positioned in the lathe by engagement with said mechanism. The last lathe for this purpose may be of any desired construction and will involve a driven spindle H4 without a toe rest, since it usually will be unnecessary to employ a toe rest in view of the rigid manner in which the connecting mechanism secures the forepart blank to the chuck I [0. One suitable lathe construction is illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,713,792, granted May 21, 1929, upon the application of L. E. Topham. The arrangement shown diagrammatically in Fig. 5 involves a suitable driven cutter I Hi to reduce the forepart blank from the outline shown at H8 to the final contour shown at I20. By proper design of the mold, only a moderate amount of thermoplastic resinous material needs to be removed by the cutter H6 so that the last parts can be produced from the molded blanks at a much higher ratev of speed than is possible when cutting them from wooden blocks where a large amount of material must be removed. It will be recalled, furthermore,

that the chips of the thermoplastic resinous material are reclaimable and can be remelted and utilized in subsequent .molding operations. The surface produced in the last lathe when cutting this moldable material is furthermore so nearly smooth that a minimum of finishing operations 1 are required. The lack of grain in the moldable material is probably at least partly responsible for this result. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That method of making a part of a separable last having at one end a joint surface and a connecting mechanism projecting therefrom, which consists in placing in a mold cavity larger than the desired producta core having a joint surface and a connecting mechanism permanently secured thereto and projecting a therefrom, casting a moldable material about said core with a finished joint surface fiush with the joint surface of the core, thus leaving the connecting mechanism exposed, positioning said molded part ina lathe chuck by engagement with said mechanism, and then reducing to the desired dimensions only that molded portion of the last part which extends beyond the joint surface.

2. The method of making a hollow moldable last part which may be reduced to any one of several selected sizes and styles which consists in molding a hollow last part having comparatively little material surrounding that portion of the core that is rearwardly of the ball line and a greater mass of material around the toe portion of the last part whereby said last part con' tains ,sumcient material to form a plurality of selected sizes and styles, and then reducing the molded last part to the desired size.

WILLIAM L. BAXTER. 

